Power Trip
by eprime
Summary: AU. Post-Hogwarts/Post War. James lived. Four friends are reunited. Threesome: James/Remus/Sirius  Written for mwpp mischief prompt. "True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country." - Kurt Vonnegut


"You know you only have to say the word, Moony, and I'll appoint you Headmaster of Hogwarts straight away."

"I know, James. You already did it once without me saying anything."

James laughed, leaning back in the chair to prop his feet up on the ornate mahogany desk in front of him. Sirius, who was perched crossed-legged on one corner of it, joined in.

"Don't know why you didn't accept. You'd be brilliant."

"I'm twenty-four years old, Sirius."

"That didn't stop James, now did it?"

"Yes, well, James has always been a precocious bastard."

They laughed again.

"Anyway, I _like_ teaching Defense."

"Yes, we know, Professor Lupin." James grinned. "Adorable little swot. Come over here so I can pinch your cheeks."

"Piss off."

"Oi! Minister of Magic here. Show prospect respect, man!"

Remus raised two fingers.

Giggling, Sirius jumped off the desk and sprawled into the large armchair next to Remus. "I'll pinch his cheeks for you, Prongs." He pulled Remus half onto his lap and reached around to grab a handful of his arse, grinning triumphantly as Remus yelped.

"Wankers," Remus grumbled, trying unsuccessfully to shift off Sirius' lap and back into a more dignified position.

"You would know, wouldn't you?" James grinned at him without shame.

"So, Prongs," Sirius said over Remus' head. "What's on the agenda today? Visiting dignitaries? Recalcitrant minions to call on the carpet? Rampant debauchery on top of that well-shined desk of yours?"

"The only visitor we have on the schedule today is Moony. I'm not sure he qualifies as a dignitary, though he certainly has more than his fair share of Remus-y dignity, which we will thoroughly divest him of over said desk very shortly. First things first, though, I am afraid we _do_ have a recalcitrant minion to berate."

"Oh?" Sirius quirked an eyebrow, pulling away from his lazy exploration of Remus' neck to look mildly intrigued.

"Guess who Shacklebolt was able to run to ground."

Remus looked around at James, as well. "Who?"

"A dear old school chum of ours." James smiled grimly.

Remus and Sirius both stood, coming to flank the corners of the desk.

"You don't mean it." Sirius was ramrod straight, staring at James fixedly with an expression that was a mixture of fury and exultation.

"I do. Marauders united once again." The beatific smile on James' face was belied by the coldness in the depths of his eyes.

"He's here now?" Remus had gone pale, his fingers curled tightly into his palms.

James looked past them as a ward around the room's heavy door glowed red for a moment then faded back into invisibility. "Right on the other side of that door."

Still reclined, James pulled out his wand and made a lazy gesture with his wand. Remus and Sirius turned as the door swung open. Shacklebolt entered when James beckoned him forward. "We have him. He's shackled and under an anti-transformation spell, blindfolded, as well."

"Excellent. Show him in, and then you can leave. Take the rest of the day off. Hell, take the month off, Shacklebolt. You've earned it. There'll be a bit of a bonus in your next paycheck, as well."

Shacklebolt nodded his thanks, all business, and called out to someone in the outer room. Two wizards with drawn wands escorted a hooded man, chained wrist to ankles, into the room. He shuffled awkwardly, his head darting futilely from side to side as he was led to the center of the room. James lifted his chin and Shacklebolt and the two wizards swiftly exited, closing the door behind them.

"Hullo, Wormtail. It's been a while." Smiling genially, James flicked his wand and the hood jerked off the man's head and flew to land in a heap by the wall. Peter Pettigrew blinked rapidly, licking his lips in a nervous gesture as his eyes met James' for a mere second before his gaze skittered away. It settled on Sirius for a moment to meet with a feral grin that made him flinch and swing his gaze toward Remus who looked back at him, face devoid of all expression. He finally settled for staring at the intricate weave of the carpet where an image of a curling vine disappeared beneath the desk.

"J-James. I-it wasn't what you think. I swear! You have to-have to let me explain!"

"Shh." James's voice was soothing. "Calm down, Wormtail. I'm going to give you every chance to explain. We're marauders, aren't we? Brothers?"

Peter nodded his head frantically. "Exactly! Yes! You-" His eyes darted between Remus and Sirius again, then back to James, finally meeting his gaze. "You're all my brothers. I would _never_-"

He snapped his mouth shut with an audible click when James held up a hand. "Wait half a mo." Another wand wave released the cuffs from Peter's wrists and ankles. The chains fell to the floor with a clatter, and Peter looked up in wary disbelief. James dropped his feet to the floor and stood, gesturing for Peter to take one of the armchairs facing the desk.

"Do sit down, Wormtail. No reason to be uncivilized about all this, is there?"

"Th-thank you." Not daring to do anything else, Peter perched on the edge of the chair, darting another nervous glance around the room as if cataloguing its contents.

"Tea?"

"What?" Peter jerked his head forward again.

"Would you like tea?"

When Peter stared at him, James only chuckled.

"Remus."

Peter watched as Remus went to the sideboard along the wall, gathering tea things on a tray then floating it over to the small table beside him. He spoke for the first time. "Still cream with two sugars?"

Remus was impossible to read, his expression as smooth as his voice.

"Yes, thanks." When Peter made no move to take the steaming cup, Remus walked over to the table and picked it up. He finally smiled.

"It's not poisoned." He lifted the cup to his lips and took a noisy slurp, then held it out to Peter.

Peter took it, the tremor in his hands making the liquid ripple. When Remus lifted an eyebrow, he drank. Remus moved back to the left corner of the desk.

"Biscuits?" James inquired, as if hosting a Sunday afternoon social call.

"No, thank you." Peter's voice was barely a whisper. Sweat was beading on his forehead, and a snort from Sirius made him start, sloshing some of the tea over his knuckles. "Sorry," he gasped.

"Drink up, old friend." In a startling move, James hopped up onto the desk and crossed to the edge closest to Peter, dropping back down to sit and dangle his legs over the edge.

They all watched as he forced the tea down, his Adam's apple bobbing with each gulp. When he was finished he set the cup aside and hunched forward, clasping his hands around his knees.

James clapped his hands briskly. "We have so much to catch up on! Where shall we start?" With an air of expectation, he kept his eyes fixed on Peter. "Sirius? Remus? Any suggestions?"

"Well, if I recall correctly," Remus mused. "The last time I saw Wormtail he had done a bang up job on framing me to be the spy in the Order. And..." Remus threw back his head and laughed as if he'd just remembered the funniest joke ever told. "He'd managed to make my lover doubt everything I had ever said and done."

"Right, right." James nodded his head encouragingly. "Sirius?"

Peter stared at them, eyes wide with fear.

"Yes, I remember that as well, and, oh yes, he'd convinced me how foolish a choice I would be to protect you, so he became your secret keeper instead of me, while I went on to play the supposed red herring for his other set of chums he hadn't told us about."

"James," Peter's voice croaked.

James' smile stretched across his face. "And _I_ remember Wormtail decided to share our little secret with his Lord and Master. _I_ remember my wife's screams and the green light, and baby Harry's cries. _I_ remember not being able to get to them in time, so that Harry had to see his mother snuffed right in front of him."

"Please, James..." Peter fell to his knees and then his hands, scrabbling across the floor to paw at James' shoes. "I...I..."

James laughed coldly. "Be careful what you say, Wormtail. Because you can't lie."

"Not that it matters, worm. We know everything already." Sirius' boot lashed out and Peter fell back against the carpet, grunting in pain.

Desperately, Peter looked toward Remus. "Remus...old friend. Please, tell them..."

"Tell them?" Remus cocked his head as if curious. "Tell them what, Wormtail? Perhaps I could tell them all of the hexes I researched and saved up for just this occasion. You wouldn't believe some of the things kept in the Department of Mysteries. Dark magic can be used so...creatively. Perhaps I could tell them of the Muggle books I read on taxidermy or about the pamphlet on the subject I penned myself-_101 Ways to Skin a Rat_." Remus chuckled. "Dead or alive."

Sirius' low laugh rang out and he sauntered over to Remus, pulling him into a heady kiss that made them both moan and grind against each other. "Oh, Moony, I love it when you're bad."

Peter's eyes widened as James slid off the desk and insinuated himself between them. Sirius' hand snaked around to James' groin, rubbing hard against the bulge in the front of his trousers, while Remus sucked a hot trail down his throat.

James let himself revel in it a moment, moaning in satisfaction as his head tilted back against Sirius' shoulder. "Moony does love his theory." Smiling blissfully, he turned to share his good humor with Peter. "And Sirius, well, we know he's all about the practical application." Heaving a happy sigh, James pulled away slightly. "What a team. A bloke couldn't ask for better mates."

Sirius and Remus smiled, sliding their arms around James' waist as he conjured a silver knife. They both extended their free hand in front of James, not flinching as he sliced a long cut along their palms. His own palm was next, and they grasped hands, letting the dark red blood drip to the carpet.

"Did you ever wonder how we took out Dumbledore? After all, even your precious Dark Lord feared him, didn't he?"

Peter stared back wildly.

"Once we found out about the Horcruxes, it was simple, really."

"Hor-horcruxes?"

"Didn't you know? I suppose not. At any rate, that's not important. We found out."

"Couldn't believe Regulus actually turned out to be some use in the end."

"Yes, rather." James continued. "The point is we figured out Dumbledore's game. The prophecy..."

For a moment, James' hand clenched tightly and Remus and Sirius gasped in pain.

"He could've taken Voldemort out if he'd wanted to. He was powerful enough. Even with his horcruxes, Voldemort could have been killed, at least temporarily, but Dumbledore didn't want that. He wanted the prophecy fulfilled. He wanted Voldemort to get to Harry. To _mark_ him. _He_ wouldn't sully his hands."

Remus made a small sound and nuzzled against James' shoulder, and he leaned into the touch appreciatively. "Poor Moony, he felt a bit bothered at first because Dumbledore had accepted him into Hogwarts. Done so much for him, the way he saw it."

Sirius snarled. "Everything he did was to further his game. Fucking bastard did as much as Wormtail to foster mistrust and lies between us all."

"Shh," James spared Sirius a sweet smile. "Everything came right in the end. Moony came around. Found the spell that made it possible, brought us even closer together than before."

They all stared at their joined hands. Wormtail whimpered, and three pairs of eyes locked on him.

"Of course, we don't need this kind of power for _you_." They all laughed. "But, quite frankly, it _is_ rather addictive." James leaned forward slightly, touching one finger to his lips as if admonishing Peter to keep a secret. "It makes us all rather frisky, too."

A shudder wracked Peter, and he instinctively drew back, wriggling away from the three grinning wizards.

"Besides, your Dark Lord _will_ be back one day, and we need the practice."

Outside the room, the two guards stood sentry. They were good at their jobs, not to mention under a low-level _Imperio_ applied by the Minister of Magic himself. They didn't bat an eye when the screams began.


End file.
